The Retired Hero is an Extra

"Okay, time's up!" The proctor announced as the timer struck zero.

Before anyone could react, the screen blacked out, closing on itself as the hologram ceased to appear, vanishing from the desks.

As the screen blacked out, the only thing left in their vision were the wooden desks. Their desperation and lowered face didn't bother the female proctor at all.

"So heartless," a few muttered, only to get glared at by the proctor as they gulped in nervousness.

'That's the academy for you,' Jash commented inwardly, looking down on the idiots who thought the academy would leave loopholes.

'Well, whatever. Just need to keep going,' he told himself as the proctor's voice echoed with a smile on her face.

"That's the end of the first phase of the exams. I hope you were all able to answer the questions properly," She said cheerfully.

Though she seemed happy, many of the examinees weren't. It became even more pronounced upon looking around.

Many uneasy faces full of tension appeared in sight yet the proctor seemed more than happy to get rid of her duty.

The smile on her face only served to tighten the nerves of the naive students.

'It's none of my business, though,' Jash sighed, observing it from his detached perspective.

The fact that he could complete his task without any issue was his primary concern. Also, he had deciphered its true intentions.

Hence, he wasn't bothered in the least, knowing that it was nothing short of a lesson in the form of an Entrance Test.

'The only thing I have to worry about is the next phase of the exam,' he shook his head at the thought, refocusing on the proctor.

"I won't be the one handling the next aspect of your exam. As such, I shall be taking my leave," she said in delight.

Her expression seemed to be screaming that she was forced into this babysitting job, with the burden of even kicking out a few examinees who used mana.

'She's crazy,' Jash thought, noting her smiling expression as she paused at the gate.

"By the way, turn the paper and it will have the area you need to reach for the next stage of the Entrance Test."

As soon as her words fell, the examinees hurriedly turned their paper and saw the words appearing on it magically.

"She left..." Jash muttered, looking at the empty spot at the gate.

However, he didn't linger on it for long and exited the room like the others, wanting to find this place for the second stage.

"T97998, huh?" he mumbled, looking at the large number and a sigh escaped his lips.

'Looks like coming late did affect things,' he mused with a wry smile before walking away from the room.

Surprisingly, no buildings were present outside the room, just a bunch of students searching for their next test location.

'What's with all these useless theatrics...' Jash cursed inwardly, disliking the whole concept the Academy was going for.

As if reciprocating his feelings, expressions of frustration, annoyance and helplessness appeared on those around him.

'I don't recognize anyone,' Jash noted, his eyes narrowing on the faces of the examinees around his age.

It wasn't that he hadn't seen them during the written test, but he didn't quite recognize anyone.

'So, they separated us based on our identities?' he guessed, taking in the frantic looks of the ones that deliberately dodged him.

"Wait a minute!" he exclaimed, a strange thought taking root in his head. "Could it be...?" he muttered as if he were on the final piece of the puzzle.

"It can't be that the entire test is nothing but a fake, just an illusion to trick the brain..."

As soon as he uttered those words, the world around him seemed to dissolve, everything vanishing from his sight.

Everything—examinees, the ground, the building—melted away as if it were never real, to begin with.

His eyes closed reflexively, unable to take the disorienting sight in.

Upon opening them, the sudden brightness made him blink rapidly to get used to the difference in brightness.

As it turned out, he stood right outside the passage he entered after listening to officials on the stage about the three tests.

"Congratulations! You have passed the first of the three stages!"

The sudden word of commendation took Jash by surprise as he looked around to locate its source, only to find no one.

"You may pass to the next one."

The voice sounded once again, giving instructions as Jash's body started to move on its own, obeying the command.

'Enchantment Spell of Sound Magic?' he figured it out as it was quite obvious.

However, he really couldn't stop his body as it moved across random areas—gardens, pavements, dry lands, river banks etc etc.

Only after his limbs were about to give up did he stop as he raised his head to look at the number above the doors.

"T97998...? So it wasn't all an illusion and the test did happen inside it?" Jash mumbled in confusion, trying to think of a feasible reason.

However, he realized that it wouldn't matter how much he thought, the academy operated on another level entirely.

'It isn't something I can just guess... This all wasn't mentioned in the novel itself,' he pondered, assessing the differences.

Unlike him, Amael actually didn't figure it out. It was his system that helped him figure out the illusion and get out of it.

Same was the case for the protagonist who was blessed by the Goddess herself.

Still, the two indeed figured it out later than Jash as the system had stayed silent until the last moment.

Of course, Amael had to pay a "reasonable price" of Villain Points unlike the protagonist whose system came in clutch with plot armor.

Unaware of the crazy feat he achieved, Jash continued inside the room.

Though his mind was focused on what would be the next stage—or Trial, to be precise.

'Trial of Mind, Body, and Mana?' he guessed wildly, not caring about it in the least.

'So, she's supervising the test this time,' he mused, remembering the Enchantment magic he was forced with.

Shaking his head, he entered inside, only to find himself in an empty room of white. "Hmm? Not again..." he sighed in irritation.

It was the same old trend of trying to shock the examinees and impress them.

'For goodness gracious, everyone is well aware of the Solarnelle Academy's prestige!' he lamented inwardly.

Suddenly a gust of wind began gathering in the arena, drawing his half-hearted attention as he rolled his eyes.

"Here we go again," he muttered in disbelief.

However, it was just him who would have such an exaggerated reaction as even the distraught students would be excited by the vast stage before them.

"Taking charge of the second round is none other than one of the Senior Professors within Solarnelle Academy... Professor..."

The same voice that congratulated him echoed as Jash caught the sight of the man who appeared from within the tendrils of wind on the stage.

He was none other than–

"...Leonard Tremayne!"

Jash's eyes bulged in surprise as he recognized the man—the one who had been embarrassed in their previous encounter.

"Nice to meet you-" Professor Leonard Tremayne greeted, smiling at first with his usual cheerful grin.

However, the moment they met eyes, both froze in spot. 'It's him!' the professor thought in hatred.

Even his greeting stuck in his throat as he looked at the one student he didn't wish to meet, at least not so early.

His lips twitched as he caught Jash's annoyed expression, the murmurs from the hall ringing in his ears.